THE CITIZEN INDEX

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

SECONDHAND FIRST™: Dressed Her Days Vintage

Have you ever seen a more impeccably dressed chic woman in the blogging
world than Crystal Hammon of Dressed Her Days Vintage?If there is one person who has the
ability to style vintage pieces into today’s hip-style,look no further.

We'd love to take a sneak peek at her closet and see her full
wardrobe!From her blog
photos,you can tell that each
item is unique, has character, tailored and fits her perfectly.

We’ve asked Crystal to answer a few questions about her blog, style and
source of inspiration.Enjoy and
be inspired!

What’s the reason behind the blog name?

Dressed Her Days rhymes with “yesterdays!” It seemed compatible with my
tagline: “Life in yesterday’s clothes.”
Like a lot of women, I tend to chronicle my life by what I wear, so the name
fits. That name also gave me latitude to cover lots of topics. Sometimes, the
blog is about what I (or someone else) wore yesterday or yesteryear. Other
times, it’s about what happened
yesterday or yesteryear—in life OR in fashion.

I have a vintage fashion
focus, but it’s not all I write about, and it’s not all that I wear.

When did you start blog and what made you start blog?

I started this blog in 2010. I’m a writer by profession, but I took a
hiatus in 2004 to become a librarian. Six years into that career change, I got
the itch to return to writing. I wanted to augment my portfolio with current
work that showed prospective clients I could still write—and had been doing so
every day.

Dressed for Days: Crystal shows a deft hand when it comes to styling great vintage pieces into a modern fashion look.

When I transitioned back to my writing career, the blog added to my
portfolio and demonstrated that my skills were still current. Blogging helped
me inch my way back to being a full-time writer. Since then, it’s become a way
to stretch occasionally. It helps me keep a nice, long stride, so I never get
in a rut with writing. I get to write about anything I want, however I want,
both of which seldom happen with paid work.

As a little girl, all I wanted was to write for a fashion magazine.
Dressed Her Days Vintage is my fashion magazine and my dream come true. You’ve
gotta love what the internet has done for having a creative life of some
kind—no matter what you do for money.

How has your blog evolved through the years?

When I started, I linked the blog to my online vintage store, which was
very expensive and cumbersome to build. Then I realized what an idiot I had
been to bite off such a task when Etsy has such a marvelous tool for sellers. I
redesigned the whole site, and moved everything to my Etsy store.

About that time, my writing business started to groove, and I needed to
make a choice. Writing matters to me most, so I’ve temporarily abandoned the
idea of selling vintage. For now, the blog is simply about passion and
friendships.

Over time, I think I’ve also grown more courageous about letting the
blog integrate all parts of my life. They say you should never talk about
money, politics and religion, but I reached a point where I started to feel
hypocritical about things I left out. How could I call myself a Christian in my
private life, and be afraid to mention God’s name on my blog? I never want to
offend readers who have a different point of view, but this is who I am and
what I want. It’s not authentic to completely leave that out.

You know what they say: my blog, my rules. Religion isn’t the focal
point of the blog, but when it’s appropriate to the content, I’m not afraid to
say the G-word anymore.

What’s your most popular post? Why do you think it was the most
successful?

I wrote a post about what to wear to a western-themed wedding because a
friend of mine was puzzling over that question. I guess there are a lot of
people out there who can’t imagine what’s appropriate for such an occasion!

Where do you see your blog 5
years from now?

The hardest thing in the world writing content that’s useful to other
people. It’s easy to create a fashion post or express an opinion. I’d like to
write more content that helps other people solve problems.

How has your style changed
through the years? How do you describe your style now?

For most of my adult life, I had a very tailored style. It made getting
dressed pretty easy, and it worked for me because it was also economical. As
I’ve aged I realized that traditional styles made me look and feel old. So, I
definitely feel more adventurous than I was in my 20s.

There are days when I’m working at home all day, and I don’t want to
fuss too much over my clothes. When I go somewhere, it’s a different story. I
feel like my clothes are a form of communication. More than anything, I don’t
want to be boring. And I despise being judged or dismissed because of my age. I
didn’t like it when I was a young adult, but it seems really unfair now.

I think my style is in a metamorphosis. I’m still adjusting to changes
in my body. I still lean toward really simple lines, but I experiment with
proportion, patterns and color more than ever. I only wish I had done this when
I was younger!

A lot of your readers are
inspired by your looks but where do you get style inspiration from?

My blogger friends are my most immediate source of inspiration. I love
studying women who are doing outrageously fun things with clothes, including
Bella. (She was responsible for my first pattern mix—checks with plaid!)

Other favorites: Bag and a
Beret and Mis Papelicos. These
women give me such a feeling of happy freedom! I also read a lot of fashion
books about famous designers from the past like Dior and Chanel. It’s fun to
reinterpret those looks in contemporary ways.

What made you start thrifting?
Can you recall what started you to thrift or recycle clothing?

I started thrift shopping when thrifting wasn’t cool. Earlier in my career, I
worked in a large manufacturing environment where I interacted with people all
through the organization, from people who made things to the CEO. That meant in
a typical day, I spent time on a dirty manufacturing floor and in business
meetings. If I got ink or oil on a thrifted suit, there was a whole lot less to
cry about. It also just made sense when I considered my priorities in life—which
included not spending everything I made.

What percentage of your closet
is thrifted/consigned/second hand/vintage?

Oh that’s a tough one! One of my favorite scores is a Talbot’s
houndstooth-checked wool skirt that still had the tags hanging on it. I got it
for $5 at Goodwill

Regret anything you thrifted?
Please share!

Never!

If you could give tips on what
to look out for in thrift shops, what would they be?

1)Buy things you can’t otherwise afford. I’m
brand-choosy only when I thrift shop. Why would I pay $5 at a thrift store for
a blouse that came from Target when I could buy the same blouse on sale for
$5—at Target. I look for huge spreads between the thrift price and the retail
price. I can’t be bothered with cheap brands because there is no spread.

2)Use your thrift shopping to experiment. Over the
years my style has changed and so has my body. Sometimes, I can sense it’s time
to make a change in my look, but I literally don’t know how to pull it together
because it’s not what I’m accustomed to wearing. When you don’t know if
something will work on your body, thrifting is the answer. It gives you
artistic license to try new looks without investing a fortune in something that
doesn’t work. You don’t have to feel guilty about a bad decision; you can
recycle it all over again!

3)Have a sense of adventure as you thrift shop. I
look for things that are in good condition, carefully checking for stains and
rips. Generally, I won’t buy something that’s damaged. That said, occasionally,
I’ll find something that’s terribly unique and terribly well-loved. In that
case, I’ll consider repairing it or refashioning it into something else. I also
look for curtains and other household fabrics that can be made into garments,
which is very fun.

4) My biggest advice—and this is critical:
Never, ever, ever, bring something from a thrift shop straight into your house.
Instead, do one of two things:

a.Take it STRAIGHT to a dry cleaner after your
purchase or

b.Carry it in a plastic bag and immediately place
it in your dryer for 45 minutes; then wash it. If it’s something that will
shrink in a dryer, let the first cleaning be done by a dry cleaner. Reason:
heat is the only thing that kills bed bugs. This is something everyone needs to
be concerned about—I don’t care who you are!

For vintage hats and accessories, I love Road
Less Traveled. She’s a flight attendant and I get the feeling that she
picks up treasures from all over the world!

Can you give 5 things your
readers do not know about you?

At this point, there’s probably not much that a regular reader doesn’t
know about me from the blog, but I’ll try for one: I have a cat phobia. If you
have a cat, I’m sure it’s very special and very meek, but it would still
terrify me.

7 comments:

I love Crystal's styling always. Her look is sophisticated and fringed with whimsy. Beautiful. Her thrifting tips are spot on, and I am especially devoted to the ones about price spread and cleaning. Her tag line, "Life is short. Wear the good stuff" is also one to live by. Thanks for featuring this interview, Bella.

Follow by Email

Google+

CONTENT OF THE CITIZEN ROSEBUD IS UNDER COPYRIGHT. All content & images are property of the Citizen Rosebud, unless otherwise noted. It is expressly forbidden to use any material on this blog for commercial purposes without permission. For non-commercial use, please notify the Citizen Rosebud, & link to this blog.